Was Friday 15 of August 2003 ... hitched a ride on the ESPN2 traveling fite circuit ... to where else but rural Gardnerville, Nevada a regular hotbed of grazing bovines ... talk about tank towns, this burg easily rivals that past Conchee, Oklahoma pit stop of a few months back.

The attraction, you ask? A local jr. middle Jesse Brinkley at 21-1 with 15 KO's - not certain whether all them victims were of the two, or four legged species - topped the card against a past title threat and veteran Danny Perez with resume sporting 28 wins and 17 stops.

Opening bell with Vic Drakula doin' the third man theme gig ... Perez has the edge using a good jab while testing the waters ... Brinkley in style strictly amateur ... still, balances things in second candle via the busier work ethic.

Rounds three and four with little changing ... Perez by far better skilled and Brinkley the much busier one ... and then number five.

Brinkley down ... Drak calls it a low blow ... actually missed the punch, but saw local kid on knees and figured smart move was the ol' low-blow trick ... several replays clearly featured a dandy of a Perez left-hook to the solar plexus.

As for damage control ... other than recovery time for Brinkley there was no point deduction to affect the scoring ... scores disagreed with my unofficial which saw Perez the winner at 96-94 or 6-4 in rounds ... the official shout was unanimous verdict for Brinkley at 96-94 twice and 97-94 for good measure.

Comments:

Danny Perez ~ still has skills but a slowed down version of prime time ... and should choose future dance partners carefully if Brinkley affair is indication of where he's now at.

Jesse Brinkley ~ reasonably tough but not championship caliber tough ... skills limited and punching power suggests the 15 knockout victims were more kin folk than foes.

Prelims:

Anthony "The Messenger" Thompson remains undefeated at a now dozen wins and 9 via knockout over a game but talent challenged Dewey Welliver with resume sporting 4 KO's in 15 trips and a now five losses. Thompson showed good speed with seemingly excellent punching power with both hands ... "opponent" a carefully selected kid with zero reading on the power-punch meter. Thompson not as yet the proven entity that the ESPN2 gang is touting him at. Still, at age 22 has room to grow.

A fill-in six-round featherweight pairing went the distance with touted Steve Luevano blanking Miguel Escamilla on all score cards matching at 60-54. The plus for Luevano is working from port side ... has good moves ... the minus is he lacks the needed clout to keep legit opposition at bay. Undefeated at 20-0 with 9 KO's is a half-truth.

Semper Fi